Social Anxiety Disorder and Marijuana Use Problems - Essay Example

Ejelonu, Akudo. “How Does Marijuana Affect the Brain?” Serendip. 01 October 2008. Web. 31 July 2012.

The article reviews ways in which marijuana affects people’s mental capacity. The author illustrates both positive and negative effects of the drug, including Marijuana’s medicinal value but focuses attention on marijuana’s effect on people’s ability to recall and how the drug influences emotions. Some of the drug’s components, according to the article, for example, impair coordination among neurons in the brain to weaken a person’s cognitive ability upon consumption of the drug. The article also identifies factors that drive people into using marijuana and the secondary effects of marijuana among college students. While it identifies stress as the main cause of usage, the article explains that the drug sends the students into a state of uncontrollable emotions. It also explains that the stimulating impacts of the drug are temporary and users are able to regain their sober status once the drug wears out of the body. I will apply the article in exploring the existing debate on marijuana.

Hogan, Julianna, Gonzalez, Adam, Howell, Ashley, Miller, Marcel, and Zvolensky, Michael. “Pain-related Anxiety and Marijuana Use Motives: A pilot Test Among Active Marijuana- using Young Adults.” Cognitive Behavior Therapy. 39. 4. 238- 292, 2010.

The article seeks to investigate anxiety that is caused by pain as a factor that influences the use of marijuana. Based on experimental research, the article identifies a significant relationship and concludes that pain motivates people to use marijuana. I will use the article to illustrate the medicinal benefits of marijuana.

National Institute of Drug Abuse. “How Does Marijuana Use Affect School, Work, and Social Life?” Research Reports: Marijuana Abuse. 2010. Web. 31 July 2012. P. 1

The article reports on the impacts of marijuana on people’s lives. Based on existing literature, it explains that intoxication from marijuana lasts for a longer duration than the user experiences its stimulating effect. It further explains that the drug negatively affects the academic performance of students who relies on its use. Similarly, it leads to dropout from academic institutions and lower rates of income in people who heavily rely on it as compared to those who do not. The article also associates the drug with other negative social conditions. I will use this source to highlight the reasons for illegalization calls.

Nida for Teens. “What are the Long-term Health Effects of Marijuana Use?” Nida For Teens. 2012. Web. 29 July 2012. P. 1

With the article’s aim of discussing ‘long-term’ impacts of marijuana usage, it identifies a reduced mental capacity to comprehend complexities and coordinate body parts besides increasing a person’s vulnerability to some genetic diseases. The article also identifies addiction as a health risk factor of marijuana besides increasing a user’s risk of developing respiratory complications. Similarly, the article reports the possibility of drug usage leading to the use of another drug as well as its use as a medicine. I plan to use the article to explore the drug’s negative impacts on society.   

Reinarman, Craig, Nunberg, Helen, Lanthier, Fran, and Heddleston, Tom. “Who are Medical Marijuana Patients? Population Characteristics from Nine California Assessment Clinics.” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 43.2. 128- 135, 2011. Print.

The article aims at illustrating the characteristics of people who use marijuana as a medicine. In order to achieve its objectives, it relies on research in which participants offered information on their medical history. In describing the characteristics of medicinal marijuana patients, the article identifies a generally higher usage of the drug among men than among women though statistics in California show equality in gender frequencies. Reliance on the drug also depends on ethnicity in which whites form the majority of users followed by African Americans, age in which a majority of users fall within the 25 years to 34 years age bracket, and education level in which high school graduate students report the highest frequencies. Other characteristics of the users include the major application of the drug to reduce pain, enhance sleep, relax the body, and control the effects of other medications. The article however admits criticisms that patients could be taking advantage of the medicinal use of marijuana to facilitate abuse. I am going to use the article to illustrate people’s dependence on the drug.